Large-scale experimental study on scour around offshore monopile under combined wave and current condition

Abstract

This work conducts large scale (1:13) experiments to study local scour around a monopile under combined irregular wave and current condition. The Keulegan–Carpenter (KC) numbers range from 1.1 to 6.73, and the relative current strength parameter Ucw numbers range from 0.17 to 0.77. The large-scale experiment indicates the 3D shape of scour holes is always an inverted cone under wave-current condition which has nothing to do with wave irregularity and Ucw. The changes of maximum scour location are associated with KC and Ucw numbers. The location of maximum scour depth is shifted from upstream to downstream of the monopile with large KC number under current-dominated condition. The characteristic scour timescale is closely related to KC, Ucw and Shields parameter θw when Ucw<0.3 and may be only related to θw when Ucw>0.7. The equilibrium scour depth is a function of vortex scale parameter referring to KC and Ucw numbers. A change in the definition of KC can improve the accuracy of existing formula under large-scale experimental condition, and scour volume formulae are further proposed from the relation with maximum scour depth. Finally, a scour volume formula of KC and Ucw numbers is suggested to estimate the protection material amount around monopile.